A few first-round picks from the WTA Berlin Tennis Open to get into today, with some genuinely interesting matchups on grass. Who do you think makes it through?
WTA Berlin Tennis Open Predictions
Elina Svitolina vs Anna Kalinskaya
Head-to-head: Svitolina 3-1 Kalinskaya
Svitolina owns this rivalry pretty convincingly, and grass suits her defensive, high-percentage game well. She doesn't give you easy points and she doesn't panic when rallies stretch out, which tends to make life miserable for someone like Kalinskaya, who needs things to happen quickly off her serve and forehand.
Kalinskaya has the weapons to cause problems on a fast surface, but her consistency has been shaky and Svitolina is exactly the kind of opponent who exposes that. Hard to see this being competitive at all.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Madison Keys vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: Keys 3-0 Wang
Keys has never dropped a set to Wang in three meetings, and on grass that record feels entirely believable. Her flat, heavy ball off the ground is genuinely difficult to handle on a quick surface and she's been building form through the season after winning the Australian Open in January.
That said, Wang is no pushover and grass can throw up surprises in the first round. I feel like Keys finds a way, but not before Wang makes her work for it.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Elise Mertens vs Liudmila Samsonova
Head-to-head: Mertens 0-2 Samsonova
Samsonova leads the head-to-head and she's got the serve and power game that can be brutal on grass, so this is genuinely tricky for Mertens going in. But Mertens is a smart, experienced player who knows how to construct points on this surface, and she's been quietly solid all season.
Samsonova can be streaky and has the kind of game that goes big or falls apart, and Mertens, who tends to thrive in exactly these grinding situations, is patient enough to let that happen. The Belgian gets through this one, but it won't be clean.
Prediction: Mertens in 3
For full predictions on ATP and WTA matches today, check out Uppset.
Credit Image: © Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA Press Wire